Rucksack rapid attachment buckle

ABSTRACT

A buckle used to attach a rucksack to a frame using a strap. The buckle includes a housing, having a bottom, two side walls and an opening in the upper portion thereof. The side walls are parallel for about one half the length of the housing before diverging to form a Y-shaped opening. The side walls have retaining flanges adapted to receive and guide a strap which is locked in the buckle, wherein the diverging side walls form a jamming socket to retain the strap and attach the rucksack to the frame.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The invention is directed to a rucksack rapid attachment buckle.

[0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art

[0004] Typically, rucksacks are attached to external load bearing frameswith a web strap and bail arrangement. The bail is sewn to the ruck on ashort length of web along with a longer length of web. The longer lengthof web is looped around the frame, threaded back through the bail and issecured, such that it forms a loop that captures the frame. When theuser of the frame wants to use the frame without the rucksack attached,detaching the rucksack from the frame can become a laborious task. Theproblem with the prior art approach is that it is tedious to remove therucksack given the multiple attachment points used by a typicalrucksack. At worst, it is impossible to do when wearing heavy gloves ormittens. Also, the attachment webs can be pulled so tightly across thebails by heavy loads having been carried on the rucksack, that coaxingthem back out cannot be done without forcing a levering tool of somekind under the webs and prying. Thus, the prior art is tedious, complex,and time consuming to operate, especially with multiple attachmentpoints and when subjected to heavy loads, the web strap and bailarrangement become difficult to undo.

[0005] The invention eliminates the need to thread a web strap throughthe bail multiple times. The buckle of the invention utilizes a releasetab that can be manipulated easily while wearing gloves and an open slotin the top of the buckle that facilitates reattachment. The prior artbuckles, including the web strap and bail arrangement are difficult toundo when subjected to heavy loads. The geometry of the buckle of thepresent invention is shaped to eliminate the potential jamming.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] The buckle mechanism of the invention includes a ‘Y’-shaped slotin the upper portion thereof. The “Y-shaped” slot is formed by twoover-arching retaining flanges located along the sides of the buckle.The retaining flanges allow an attachment web to be directly insertedthrough the opening and guided into position. The web is then pulledinto a locked position. The buckle mechanism also includes a jammingsocket to retain the attachment web at the fold at the end of the web.The jamming socket consists of a jam surface and a stop surface alongwith a pinch radius. The retaining flanges are beveled at a 45-degreeangle on the bottom thereof to facilitate the guiding of the web intoand out of the buckle.

[0007] An object of this invention is to provide a rapid attachable anddetachable buckle.

[0008] Another object of this invention is to provide a rapid attachableand detachable buckle for a rucksack.

[0009] Another object of the invention is to provide a buckle that isdetachable under a heavy load.

[0010] Still another object of this invention is to provide a bucklethat may be attached with a web strap.

[0011] And still another object of this invention is to provide a bucklethat may be attached with a web strap.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Other objects, features and advantages of the present inventionwill become more apparent as the description proceeds with reference tothe accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0013]FIG. 1. is a perspective view of rucksack attachment buckle of theinvention;

[0014]FIG. 2. is a perspective view of the buckle in FIG. 1 as a strapis passing through the buckle;

[0015]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an attachment web being lockedinto position;

[0016]FIG. 4 is sectional view of the buckle attached to a ruck;

[0017]FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the jamming socket of FIG.3;

[0018]FIG. 6 is a buckle in which the mounting web has been attachedwith stitching to a base;

[0019]FIG. 7 is the buckle of FIG. 6 in which a separate attaching webhas been locked in place;

[0020]FIG. 8 is a side view of a buckle wherein the attaching web islooped before being locked into the buckle;

[0021]FIG. 9 is a buckle which may be attached to a base through anaperture in the bottom surface of the buckle; and

[0022]FIG. 10 is an enlarged perspective view of an alternative end tab.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0023] Referring to FIGS. 1-10, the buckle is shown generally at 10. Thebuckle may be used to attach a rucksack 12 to a frame. A strap or web 14is used to attach the rucksack 12 to the frame.

[0024] The buckle mechanism includes a ‘Y’-shaped slot 18. The slot 18is an opening in the top surface of the buckle 10 which is defined byparallel edges 20 for approximately half of its length of the buckle,and then widens towards the sides of the buckle 22 at one end.

[0025] The slot 18 of the buckle 10 is formed by two over-archingretaining flanges 24, and allows the attachment web 14 to be directlyinserted through the opening 18, as opposed to having to thread the web14 through any closed slots. The ‘Y’-shaped slot 18 is important to boththe insertion and removal of the attachment web 14. On insertion, theopen end of the ‘Y’ 18 makes it possible for the pinched and narrowedweb 14 to move easily into position under the retaining flanges 24.Without the ‘Y’ opening 18, the strap 14 would have to be pinched muchtighter over a greater length, and thereby becoming much more difficultto feed into the slot 18. On removal of the attachment web 14, the ‘Y’aspect performs a funneling function as it guides the web 14 into apinched configuration which is the result not of pinching with thefingers, as on insertion, but is simply the result of pulling upward onthe stitched tab 16, after backing it out of a jamming socket 26. The‘Y’ aspect of the slot 18 does the pinching as the web 14 is pulledagainst it, and allows the web 14 to slide between the retaining flanges24, thus releasing the buckle 10.

[0026] The retaining flanges 24 consist of over-arching lips 28 whichform the opposing sides of the ‘Y’-shaped slot 18. The open-ended cavity30 beneath the retaining flanges 20 is deep enough to allow the mountingweb 32, and the attachment web 14 to nest on top of each other when thebuckle is in a closed position.

[0027] On the ‘Y’ end of the flanges 22, is the jamming socket 26 whichis formed by the interior geometry thereof. The jamming socket 26receives the 3-layer stitched tab 16 on the end of the attachment web14.

[0028] The jamming socket 26 which retains the attachment web 14, has asloped jam surface 34 to bear down progressively on the stitched tab 16as it is pulled into the jamming socket 26. When fully seated in thejamming socket 26, the tab 16 is held firmly in place by the pinchingaction of this surface. The socket 26 also has a stop surface 36, whichcontrols the depth to which the tab 16 can be drawn into the jammingsocket 26. This prevents the attachment web 14 from being jammed sotightly that it becomes difficult to release. Also included is a pinchradius 38, which allows the attachment web 4 to carry heavy loadswithout tearing, exhibiting undue wear from exposure to a sharplybreaking edge, or stripping the stitching that holds the tab 16together.

[0029] The buckle of the invention described herein is designed to takeadvantage of the adaptive properties of web straps A single thickness ofstrap is relatively flexible both along its length and its width. But,when a section of the strap is folded back on itself and sewn together,the physical properties of that section of the strap are changed,including increasing its total thickness, increasing the stiffnesslengthwise along with the widthwise stiffness.

[0030] The attachment web 14 is sewn to the ruck, with the folds of theweb which form the tab 16, are situated underneath as it lies flat, sothat the run of the web is on top with relation to the buckle. Thus, thetensile loading on the attachment web 14 compresses the tab 16 againstitself, and significantly increases its ability to resist failure due tothe tab 16 pulling apart. As the force increases the tab 16 only getsstronger, within the specified load limits.

[0031] The retaining flanges 24 are beveled at a 45-degree angle ontheir bottom or internal edges 40 to facilitate guiding the web 14 as itis pulled away from the buckle 10. This also serves to minimize wear onthe edges of the attachment web, which would otherwise be subject toabrasion and excessive wear from passing repeatedly over asharp-breaking edge. The bevel on the internal edges of the retainingflanges 40 also acts to guide and facilitate the insertion of the strap14 on assembly by allowing one edge of the attachment web to be pusheddown and guided under one of the retaining flanges 24. The strap 14 isthen pinched between the fingers in a lengthwise fashion, so that theremaining side can then be inserted into the ‘Y’-shaped slot 18, andexpanded outward under the opposing retaining flange.

[0032] In order for the second edge of the strap to feed smoothlyoutward and come to rest under its retaining flange, it must begin tosplay outward as it is introduced into the ‘Y’-shaped slot. The bevelededges allow this to happen, where vertical edges, without the underlyingbevel, would cause the edges of the strap to meet the mounting web at asteep angle, and therefore resist the tendency to spread outward, makingthe insertion of the flexed web into the buckle much more difficult.

[0033] When both edges of the strap have been captured under theretaining flanges, the user then pulls on the non-tab end of the strap,drawing the 3-layer, stitched tab into the jamming socket.

[0034] To lock the buckle in place, the attachment web is looped aroundthe frame and positioned over the ‘Y’-shaped, lengthwise slot in the topof the buckle. One edge of the web is then slipped down through the slotand tucked into the recess under the edge of the retaining flange. Theweb is pinched between the fingers and bowed upward along its length todraw the edges together, effectively narrowing the width of the web. Thesecond edge of the web is then inserted into the ‘Y’-shaped slot, andexpanded outward under the opposing retaining flange by flattening theweb, thus expanding it back to its full width. The folded tab is thenpulled into the open end of the buckle. When load is applied to the endof the strap looped around the frame, the tab becomes firmly jammed intothe buckle and retained in the locked position until intentionallyreleased by the user.

[0035] Then, when one would like to unlock the buckle, the user simplypulls the rigidly stitched tab straight back out of the jamming socketuntil it has cleared the edges of same. The attachment web can then bestripped upward from its position under the retaining flanges with asimple lifting motion, which draws the unstitched and flexible portionof the strap through the ‘Y’-shaped slot between the retaining flanges.The shape of the ‘Y’-shaped slot is designed to funnel the web's edgestogether as it is pulled upward, away from the buckle. The effect isthat of narrowing the web along its length, reversing the installationprocedure, so that it will pass out through the ‘Y’-shaped slot, andrelease the buckle.

[0036] The invention has been described with a buckle that uses amounting web which is looped around a frame and then locked in thebuckle, such that the mounting web and attaching web are one in thesame. However the buckle may be mounted with a mounting web onto asubstrate and a separate attaching web (whether it is attached to a ruckor other object to be held in place) is locked in the buckle. Stillanother alternative is to have the buckle mounted directly to the frameitself.

[0037] Alternatively, the buckle may have an aperture in the base of thebuckle. The buckle may then be attached to a surface such as a boat witha bolt, nail or screw, so that a tarp or covering may be attached tocover the boat using web straps attached to the edges of the tarp orcovering. The buckle may be used on other surfaces as well to attachedthe desired item with web straps.

[0038] Another alternative embodiment may include adapting the tab atthe end of the web strap. Instead of forming a rigid tab by folding andstitching the webbing, the tab may be formed by attaching a wedge 44 atthe end of the strap as seen in FIG. 10.

[0039] Although the present invention has been shown and described withrespect to several preferred embodiments thereof, various changes,omissions and additions to the form and detail thereof, may be madetherein, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A buckle, said buckle comprising: a housing, saidhousing having a bottom, two side walls and an opening in the upperportion thereof, said side walls being parallel for about one half thelength of the housing before diverging to form a Y-shaped opening, saidside walls being retaining flanges are adapted to receive and guide astrap which locks within the buckle, wherein the diverging side wallsform a jamming socket to retain a tab formed at an end of the strap. 2.The buckle of claim 1, wherein said jamming socket includes a jamsurface.
 3. The buckle of claim 1, wherein said jamming socket includesa stop surface.
 4. The buckle of claim 1, wherein said jamming socketincludes and a pinch radius.
 5. The buckle of claim 1, wherein the sidewalls include over-arching lips.
 6. The buckle of claim 1, wherein theretaining flanges are beveled at a 45-degree angle on their bottom orinternal edges.
 7. The buckle of claim 1, wherein the strap has amultiple folded end tab.
 8. A buckle used to attach a rucksack to aframe using a strap, said buckle comprising: a housing, said housinghaving a bottom, two side walls and an opening in the upper portionthereof, said side walls being parallel for about one half the length ofthe housing before diverging to form a Y-shaped opening, said side wallsbeing retaining flanges adapted to receive and guide a strap which islocked in the buckle, wherein the diverging side walls form a jammingsocket to retain the strap such that the rucksack is attached to theframe.
 9. The buckle of claim 8, wherein said jamming socket includes ajam surface.
 10. The buckle of claim 8, wherein said jamming socketincludes a stop surface.
 11. The buckle of claim 8, wherein said jammingsocket includes a pinch radius.
 12. The buckle of claim 8, wherein theretaining flanges are beveled at a 45-degree angle on their bottom orinternal edges.
 13. The buckle of claim 8, wherein the strap has amultiple folded end tab.
 14. The buckle of claim 8, wherein the end ofthe strap is attached to a wedge to form a tab.
 15. The buckle of claim8, wherein the tensile loading on the strap at the jamming socketcompresses the tab against itself, and significantly increases itsability to resist failure due to the tab pulling apart.
 16. The buckleof claim 8, wherein a mounting strap mounts the buckle to a substrateand an attaching strap locks in the buckle.